Penn Law's Latinx Law Students Association (LALSA)

Welcome

﻿Thank you for visiting Penn LALSA's website!

LALSA is one of the most active student groups at Penn Law, hosting social, cultural, and service events that not only foster a strong sense of community, but allow us to share our vibrant and unique cultures with our fellow classmates. LALSA is committed to the academic, social, and professional development of its members and aims to increase outreach, diversity, and Latinx awareness in our community.

On our site, you will find information about upcoming events, special resources for Latino law students, and details about our association. Please check back often for up﻿dates, and contact us if you have any questions or are interested in joining!

If you would like to join our listserv, please email lalsa@law.upenn.edu. Follow us on Twitter @PennLALSA and find us on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/PennLawLalsa.

The Latinx Law Students Association (LALSA) firmly supports the fearless advocates and organizations that are actively working to challenge President Trump’s rescindment of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and push for full immigration reform. Furthermore, we stand in solidarity with our BLSA brothers and sisters, who have condemned Professor Wax’s rhetoric regarding people of color, immigrants, and the LGBTQIA community. (see BlSA's statement here: http://www.pennlawblsa.com/mission-statement.html)

The framing of narratives is an important and powerful tool that can be manipulated and used to oppress communities of color. Such was the case during President Donald Trump’s campaign, as he used his platform to reinforce anti-immigrant sentiments and reduced the narratives of immigrants to inflammatory images of “bad hombres.” It was the case when Professor Wax made claims of “anti-assimilation ideas” among Hispanic immigrants, claims that attempt to undermine the identity, culture, and contributions of the Latinx community. It continues to be the case when individuals and institutions in the U.S constantly frame undocumented immigrants as “illegals” who come to the U.S to receive benefits and take jobs.

These false constructions of immigrants are not only dangerous, but have proven to be effective in pushing forward punitive policies and legislation. We see clear examples of this with Trump’s Muslim ban and with his termination of the DACA program. This is why it is crucial we challenge these dominant voices and work with those directly affected by these harmful immigrant policies.

LALSA supports full immigration reform for those affected by DACA, but just as importantly, for those undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for relief under this policy. As we fight for broader immigration reform, we need to assure that the conversations we have concerning immigrants are not centered solely on their economic value or the labor they produce. For even though well intentioned, framing immigrants as a group that merely works hard, disparages the humanity and multi-dimensional stories that exist. It allows for policy makers to reinforce the “good” versus “bad” immigrant narrative that is all too misleading. Immigrants, like U.S citizens, come in all varieties and trying to sort them out in this manner helps no one. Consequently, we will continue to reject the current administration’s efforts to use DACA recipients as bargaining chips to support the funding of a border wall and intensify anti-immigrant policies. Our fight for immigrant reform must be a fight for all immigrants.

We urge all of you to call your representatives and ask that they advocate for immigration reform that is inclusive of both DACA-eligible recipients and the greater undocumented community. We encourage all of you to become involved at any level on campus and thank the student groups and leaders of the Penn Law community who continually work to tackle these issues. Additionally, we plan to host a series of events throughout the year that are focused on present immigration challenges and possibilities for reform. We hope you support us by attending these events.

For as Justice Sonia Sotomayor powerfully noted, “none of us can afford to be bystanders in life. We create our community, and we create it by being active participants in our community.” As members of the Penn Law community, we hope you join us in creating a space where we are not bystanders to injustice and inflammatory ideas, but rather advocates and active participants in the fight for an immigration system that acknowledges the humanity of all.